Chapter Text
It was May 25th, 1993, 4:53PM to be exact, when Alex Krycek fell in love with Fox Mulder.
The air was warm with late spring and the sun was still high in the sky. It bounced off the white bleachers and illuminated them, making the two boys sat there seem angelic. Mulder’s eyes had fluttered closed and his lips parted, waiting. Krycek moved closer, their faces inches apart. It was hard to believe how quickly this had all come about.
TWO WEEKS EARLIER.
Tuesday, May 11th.
“Alex!” Mr. Skinner barked from the front of the class, jolting Krycek from his daydream. “Am I boring you?” Krycek said nothing, just looked down at his work and scowled, pretending to take notes from the board. Skinner let it slide and proceeded with the Science lesson. This semester would focus on Astrology. Krycek didn’t much care for space, but he understood the science and theory behind it and he’d be able to squeeze a Pass out of the course if he tried. So, he stuck with it to the bear minimum and doodled little Saturns in the corners of his paper.
A voice piped up from the front of the class. “…Well, if that’s true, sir, then how can we be sure that we’re alone in this universe? In fact, how could one possibly assume otherwise? If space is truly as vast as your equations make it out to be, it would be ridiculous to believe so.” A quiet collective groan sounded from a few students. Fox Mulder was theorising again. Last week it was moth men. Krycek looked up at the brash young man, who had turned to face a student that had playfully thrown a ball of paper at him.
“No, really,” Mulder continued. “An unlimited area of space and you people think we’re the only ones in it? C’mon!” Mulder had a habit of raising the hackles of the non-believers.
“Mulder, let’s keep your beliefs to your paper, alright?” Skinner tried.
“Tell that to the street preachers.”
The bell sounded before Skinner could argue, and the students wasted no time gathering their stuff and leaving. Despite Mulder’s theories being unconventional to say the least, Krycek admired his rebellion against the norm. He often wished he could do the same, but it just wasn’t his style. His form of rebellion was smoking in the bathrooms and skipping classes to watch the baseball team at practice.
Krycek had lingered in the class a second too long, and Skinner caught him on the way out.
“Alex, you’re falling behind.” He said matter-of-factly, flicking through some files on his desk. “I want you to attend some after-school sessions to get you back on track.”
“Not a chance.” Krycek replied, already giving up on the conversation and walking out the door. Skinner wouldn’t be defeated so easily.
“Alex, either you attend these sessions or I’ll fail you for the semester. It’s as simple as that.”
“That’s bullshit, sir, and you know it!” Krycek knew Skinner had it in for him, but this was just unfair.
“You watch your language!” Skinner barked, turning to Krycek with an iron glare. Krycek left the room with a scowl, craving a cigarette more than ever. After school sessions were a waste of time, everyone who was forced to participate only goofed off or necked with their girlfriends, and he’d rather goof off alone. Krycek stormed home with only a red sky to accompany him.
Wednesday, May 12th.
The next morning in the library, Mulder’s face was buried in A Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy when a trio of students approached him. The tallest had to clear his throat to get Mulder’s attention.
“Well, if it isn’t the three stooges.” Mulder smiled, dog-earing his book and shutting it. “To what do I owe this pleasure?” The three students looked ridiculously out of place wherever they went, and consequently were known by everyone at school. Early on they’d learned that they needed to use this to their advantage. The first semester’s assembly hall had roared with laughter as an unflattering image of principle Kersh flashed across the screen as he gave a speech. Each time he’d turned around to see what the fuss was about, the image would disappear, only to reappear once his back was turned. The trio had become respected troublemakers amongst the students since then.
The shortest of the three spoke first, tossing a set of keys on the desk.
“We’ve done our part. Now it’s time to do yours.”
Mulder took the keys and studied them briefly, before stuffing them into his pocket.
“Nicely done, Frohike. I trust you had no interruptions?”
“Not one,” The middle-height one beamed. It was obvious he’d been trying to grow a beard, but so far only a weak moustache had sprouted. “Langly and I had the place scoped out completely.”
“We suggest you do it during fifth period, next Wednesday. Kersh will be off by then and you should have the hall to yourself for at least twenty minutes.” Langly, the blonde, reported.
“Thanks, guys. Consider it done.” Mulder swung his bag over his shoulder and left the library, the other three hanging back to make sure he wasn’t being followed. He was, but not by anyone threatening to their plan.
“Mulder!” A voice sounded from behind him, and he turned around and smiled. Dana Scully. She always seemed to be there when he felt off-balance.
“Hey, Dana.” He scooped her into a hug.
“How many times to I have to tell you, Mulder? If you insist on going by your second name, I insist on following suit.” She said, walking with him. “What are you doing tonight? Reyes and I are going to get something to eat.”
“I’d love to, Scully, but Skinner’s assigned me to these after school sessions, first one’s tonight.” He pulled out a stick of gum, offered it to Scully, who shook her head, and popped it into his mouth.
“Why has he put you on for those sessions? You’re acing those courses, aren’t you?”
“Yeah, that’s the problem. He wants me to mentor the students that are falling behind.” He sighed. They walked in silence for a moment until Scully stopped and turned to him.
“Are you alright, Mulder? You seem… off.”
Mulder had been told by The Lone Gunmen not to tell a soul about their plan, but he found it so hard to keep anything from Scully. He looked around and directed them into a quieter corner.
“Well, the three stooges and I have a plan to break into Kersh’s office and change the grades of some students who are paying us for it. Simple enough, but I don’t know how I feel about it…” He admitted, showing Scully the keys. She looked away in thought for a moment.
“Going ahead with this goes against your morals, Mulder. You want to be a representative of the law, and you’ll be breaking it.” She softened her tone. “Look, you know I won’t tell anyone. I just think you need to really think it over before you go ahead with it.” Damn it if she wasn’t right. He hadn’t thought about it thoroughly enough for it to sit right with his conscience, he’d jumped at the chance to make a few bucks. The bell sounded, signifying the end of break.
“Thank you, Scully.” He smiled, before heading off to his next lesson.
The next few hours passed with agonising sluggishness, and Krycek had been tapping his fingers to the same tune for twenty minutes now, but finally the last bell rang. He just had to get through this next bullshit hour of after-school class and he’d be free. He wasn’t paying any attention as he walked into the classroom, so he didn’t notice Fox Mulder standing at the front of the room.
“…And Alex. Looks like that’s everyone.” Krycek took his seat and looked up at the mention of his name, realising it’d be Mulder mentoring him.
“Skinner’s told me to help you guys with page 102, lifecycle of a star. It’s pretty straightforward, once you get the hang of it.” Mulder set about drawing some basic illustrations on the board depicting a star’s lifecycle, from Protostar to Neutron Star or Black hole, depending on the events it encounters. Krycek figured if he were a star he’d end up a black hole. A few minutes in and Krycek was bored, relentlessly tapping his pen on his knee.
“Alex? It is Alex, isn’t it?” Mulder approached Krycek’s desk, turning the chalk over in his fingers.
Krycek looked up, suddenly finding it rather difficult to find any words. “Yeah. Alex Krycek.”
“I’m Fox Mulder, but just call me Mulder, for my own sanity.”
Krycek managed to stop the words ‘I know who you are’ from escaping.
“Is there anything in the sequence you’re stuck on? I’d be happy to help.” Mulder asked. He sounded so genuine that Krycek wondered if he was being patronising.
“I’m not stupid, Fox, I understand Stellar Evolution. We did this shit in middle school.” It had come out harsher than intended, and he winced at himself. Mulder said nothing, just moved to help another student.
Half an hour had passed when Krycek realized perhaps he didn’t know as much about Stellar Evolution as he previously assumed. He had been tracing the circles in the black hole illustration in his textbook for a while now, but he was too stubborn to ask Mulder for help, especially in front of the other students. When the hour was finally up and Mulder was rubbing the diagrams from the board, Krycek approached him.
“Hey… Mulder? I’m… Sorry about earlier” He said weakly. Mulder turned to him and put the board rubber down. “I’m having trouble with the uh, hydrogen fusion parts, mostly.” Mulder said nothing for a moment, then turned back to the board to write down a few numbers and symbols.
“The onset of nuclear fusion leads to a hydrostatic equilibrium in which energy released by the core produces a radiation pressure, balancing the weight of the star’s matter, preventing further gravitational collapse. So, the star evolves more rapidly to a stable state, beginning the main sequence phase of its evolution.”
“…Right.” Krycek thumbed the strap on his backpack uncomfortably.
“It’s in the book.” Mulder slid his pen into his bag and slung it over his shoulder. Krycek couldn’t understand. He’d apologized, he could only claim to have apologized to about five people in his life. Mulder was advancing towards the door, but Krycek was not one to be belittled.
“Hey! I said I was sorry, what more do you want?” Mulder ignored him and left, flicking the light switch off as he went.